Count down to the Mickey Mouse Birthday Extravaganza

Wrapping presents, so much to do!
Our little Maddy is turning 2!!

I think I'm a bit more excited than she is about this party. I've collected the latest Mickey Mouse party paraphernalia, food, food and more food!

Thank goodness we are all feeling better.

I'll be sure to get some pictures tomorrow and post them as soon as I can.

On another note, you know how I'm taking those steriods for this nasty sinus infection? Well, in order to get the dose of 6 pills in yesterday, the package said to take two at bedtime. Well, hello? If you do that, you will certainly not be able to sleep. So, I was up til 2 am this morning. However, it was some productive time. I began Maddy's Ladybug scrapbook. I'm so excited to have finished some pages. I'm really trying to get our photo albums and pictures up to date. And you know what was weird? I really enjoyed it! So, I've got about 6 more days of these steriods to take "at bedtime". So, maybe by the end of the illness, I will have completed a scrap book or two! Hidden blessings, huh! There always there, you just have to see 'em!

Well, I'm off to complete the never ending list of things to do prior to the party:

Today's List

1) Dust everything in the house
2) Sweep and Mop all floors (wood floor in living room area, tile in kitchen and
bathrooms)
3) Vaccuum floors
4) Clean toilets, tubs, sinks
5) Make Mickey Mouse silhouette decorating thingys


Tomorrow's list:
1) Clean and cut veggies for tray
2) Clean and cut fruit in fun & exciting shapes for fruit basket :-)
3) Fill balloons with helium
4) Pick up cupcakes and sandwiches from Walmart
5) Rearrange living room for max seating capacity
6) Arrange eating area and layout food
7) Hug and kiss my little Maddy (and my Baby Lulu!)
8) ENJOY THE PARTY!

Thankful Thursday

I'm feeling much better today, thanks to the unlawful amount of meds that the doctor has given me. So, in the spirit of "thanks", I thought I'd list some things that I'm thankful for this week.

1. Hubby comes home today!

2. Hubby comes home today! (Thought it was worth mentioning twice)

3. A doctor who was able to diagnose and get me on meds quickly.

4. Folgers Gourmet Vanilla Biscotti Coffee - got a sample of this (and you can too, just go here) in the mail and I'm loving it! It's nice for a change.

5. Friends and family who are concerned and are praying for our family.

6. For health insurance -- according to the pharmacist, I saved $254.95. Self pay for all my prescriptions would have been $304.95.

7. Hubby has a good job with excellent benefits.

8. My cousin, Stephanie, who came to watch the girls yesterday while I went to the doctor.

9. Baby Lulu's doctor finally giving in to me and calling in her some meds yesterday and seeing Maddy1 today. (I'll explain this later . . .)

10. And for you all in bloggy world who share each day with me! I so enjoy reading about all of you and I hope that you enjoy it here!

Illness update . . .

Well, I gave up the good fight and decided to see my doctor today. Wouldn't you know it, I have bronchitis and sinusitis. I got a good talkin to from the doc. He couldn't believe that I had let myself get so bad. But seriously, it's been tough here taking care of the two sick girls -- I haven't had a moment to think about me. I've been taking some over-the-counter meds thinking that I could wait this thing out. Apparently not! He's giving me a couple of days to try to get the swelling down in my sinuses. If that doesn't work, we'll do an x-ray and go from there. He's afraid the the infection may spread into my head near my brain. He wrote me four prescriptions. I'm to start the antibiotics today. I start a steroid tomorrow for the swelling in my sinuses (6 steroids pills tomorrow to be exact!). So, needless to say, I'm glad Hubby will be flying home tomorrow to help out with the girls. He is also on meds trying to head off the infection. And today, Baby Lulu's dr called her in some new antibiotics. Maddy1 has an appt tomorrow. Please pray that we all get well soon. We've got Maddy1's party here at the house on Saturday and I've got tons to do. Hubby has knee surgery scheduled for Tues. If his white blood cell count is low, they will cancel his surgery. We've built our whole Sept/Oct schedule around this surgery, so please pray that we can proceed as planned. I'll keep you all posted! Off to try to get some rest now.

Works for Me Wednesday #3 - Brand Edition

Well, Shannon over at Rocks in My Dryer has asked us to use this "Works for Me Wednesday" to tell everyone about our favorite brand names. We don't always buy name brands. I'm willing to buy generic. But, there are some brands that are tried, tested and true and I will not compromise.

Pampers diapers -- Love 'em, love 'em, love 'em. I started both girls off in Pampers Swaddlers - special edition diapers for infants. The diapers are so soft and snug to the fit. Never a leak! I've tried the cheaper brands and generics, but they either leak or don't fit well and Maddy1 complains that they give her an "oowwiiee". So, we'll stick with these jewels!

Lancome -- I love the eye shadow. They've got great colors and nothing stays on and looks fresh like this brand of eye shadow.

Kraft products -- love Kraft cheese, Kraft Mac n Cheese, and especially Kraft Mayo. I do not compromise on mayo -- got to be Kraft!

Honda -- I love my Honda Accord SE and I love my Honda Pilot. Both drive so smooth. Nothing rattles on the inside. Love 'em!

Tide detergent -- I love Tide detergent. I find it really gets our clothes clean. With two little ones, you know I need a detergent that can remove stains. I highly recommend Tide.

Dawn dishwasing detergent -- Cuts right through the grease just like they say it does.

Well, I'm all out of time. For more "Works for Me Wednesday", go here.

Help Megan find jeans!

Hi everyone! My good friend Megan over at Fried Okra is looking for a new pair of jeans. She's declared September as "New Jeans Month." She has recently put her old faithful pair of DKNY jeans to rest (don't mention it to her, it's still a fresh wound!) She's asking all of us here in bloggityville for suggestions on what jeans she should purchase. Seeing as how I've been wearing maternity clothes for the past two years, I wouldn't be the best person to ask . . . unless you'd like to shop at Motherhood. However, I thought my hip 14 year old neice and others visting my blog might have a few suggestions for my friend. Oh . . . and she's not asking for free advice. Oh no m'am -- she's giving away some gift cards over there at Fried Okra Manor. So, go on, head on over there and get her some help. Oh, and by the way, I hope to be shopping for some regular jeans myself. So, feel free to leave me a comment also!

Two sweet little blessings . . .

Well the cold/sinus infection has made it's way around our house. It's official, we are all suffering from it's effects. The sickness has forced me to slow down a little, which now in hind sight, has been nice. I've focused more on my little girls and less about scrubbing the floors or folding laundry.

Little Baby Lulu, she struggled to breath through the congestion. I sat rocking her while she drank her last bottle of milk. Her eyes were so heavy. She has not been napping well. I can imagine it's hard for her to breath. But, as she lay there in my arms, it was like she was finally able to close her eyes and fall asleep. I stared at her . . . her perfect little lips. It's sweet, the way she crinkles her nose. And at that moment, I just wanted to sit there and drink her up. After a few minutes passed, I walked slowly to her room and gently placed her in her crib . . .

A minute later, Maddy1 crawled up in my lap with a hand full of books. And we read. She made all the animal sounds, careful not to miss any. And then, we read the last book. She closed it's cover, looked at me and in the sweetest little voice said, "Rock." I melted. She turned around and put her head on my shoulder and I rocked her. I looked at her body. When did she get so big? Her legs stretched down so far. What happened to my little baby girl? I sang to her and she hummed. And then she did something she has not done since she was 6 or 7 months old --- she twirled my hair. When she was an infant and I held her, rocking her before putting her into her bed, she used to reach up and twirl my hair. After a few minutes, I heard her breathing change and I knew she must be asleep. I walked slowly to her room, trying not to wake her and placed her in her crib . . .

Thank you Lord, for these quiet moments. And thank you for reminding me of the blessings that you have bestowed upon me.

Update on the boy cut

Ok . . . a little late, but here is the picture that I promised. This was taken as I was leaving for my dinner with my cousins. And hey . . . while I'm at it, I'll just throw in a couple of pictures of our night, too.



Sorry, but my brother is certainly not a great photographer -- these were the only 2 usable pictures out of about 10 that he took. Oh yes, there are other where he randomly chopped off parts of my body!




See, I told you! And thanks to my cold, I now have the manly voice to go with the cut!



This is my cousin Andrea and her husband Nathan.



Could I smile any bigger? Not sure what was so funny! Here you see (from left to right) Jennifer, Andrea, Me and Beth.

We had such a great time and I'm so glad that they were able to come, visit and hangout!